Blue Star Rising

The Mountains Look On: The Balkan Nations in the War of the Four Powers

The Balkans had long been both a source of strength and troubles to the Ottoman throne by the time of the 19th century. Though providing many talented men and considerable revenue to the state, countless unrests and upsets have flared among the Christians of the Peninsula over the centuries of Turkish rule. However the character of these problems changed irreversibly after the Republican Wars; whilst before the various rebels had the fundamental aim of securing a better deal from the Sublime Porte within the overarching structure of Ottoman rule, now the uncompromising ideals of nationalism had entranced a rising generation, and only complete independence would suffice for the new powermongers.

Naturally the geographically peripheral ethnicities of the Ottoman Empire would be the the first to receive influxes of new concepts from Europe. The maritime traditions and merchant class of the Aegean Greeks gave them many connections to the European Enlightenment, whilst the constant buffeting of the Romanians by the empires of the Romanovs, Habsburgs, and Ottomans pummelled that people into an identity defined against its neighbours. These two strong peoples, perhaps regrettably with hindsight, yearned to throw off the perceived yoke of Istanbul and rule themselves. Though it would be difficult to get a modern Romanian to admit it the Greeks were the first to act in 1831, and with rather more organisation to boot...

...The Filiki Eteria had been plotting the revolution for considerable time. First established in Athens in 1811 they were strongly influenced by the 'Milanese Schools' the secret patriotic societies that had done so much to cement Italian unity before the Spring of Thunder, and planned to follow a similar course, namely separated revolts throughout their occupier to spread confusion followed by eliciting outside intervention. Lodges were established throughout the Greek community and connections made overseas...

...That triggering spark came most unexpectedly however when Skoufas was arrested and executed for spreading revolutionary literature and smuggling in early May. On hearing this the Lodge of Athens roared into action and instigated and riot against the Ottoman authorities that soon spread throughout the city. The other commanders of the Filiki Eteria were shocked, but decided to ride this new wave as the majority of the Ottoman garrison was away putting down problems in Algiers . A gathering of notables followed the Ottomans demand that the rebels surrendered and by late June the whole Peloponnese was aflame with call of “Freedom or Death” - an unfortunate declaration considering the events that would follow over the next four years...

...meanwhile Tsakalov had stolen north to the Romanian principalities, hoping to convince the northern Christians to join the revolt with the successes of Athens and the vaguely supportive letters that the court of Konstantin had provided. Vladimirescu took the letters at face value and put his lot in with the Society, and his proclamations soon swelled the small force of Tsakalov by many thousands. It is widely considered that the pan-Slavic tones of these documents is what convinced Konstantin I to shift from disapproval of the quiet liberal revolutionary movements to open support – in essence Tsakalov's lie had grown big enough to become truth. The Russian activation of forces changed the situation from a few revolts that the Ottomans probably would have dealt with as soon as the army in Algeria returned, to a major war...

...The Ottoman court thus reluctantly decided that the army under Kose Mehmed Pasha would not put down the Greek revolt directly, but instead land in Northern Greece and leave a force that would seek to contain the rebels south of Lamia whilst the rest would march on joining up with the main Ottoman armies streaming north to meet the Russians. The French fleet that had accompanied their transports set about containing the Greeks naval forces and smugglers. This action and the similar operation of small Austrian detachment out of Trieste that arrived a few weeks later did much to build trust between the Sublime Porte and its Western Allies. Many historians believe that Konstantin would have been brought off with Moldova and sold out the Christians of the Balkans, but the newly emboldened Ottomans committed to a long war...
 

Glen

Moderator
Nugax, some really cool stuff here! I love the graphics. It's interesting in that while this is the first time I have seen your thread, some of the things we're doing here and in the DSA timeline have eerie echoes!:eek::D:cool:
 
Yo, just wanted to say that this timeline was one of the first that got me into althistory, and I just want to say Well Done, I can't wait for the next part.:D
 
This is what happens when a writer pours their heart and soul into a timeline, only to receive little to no response.

...I need to go read and review a few timelines now.
 
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